🌊 How to use Calm90 in the first days after hard news
Why a short breathing practice makes sense when everything feels overwhelming — and how you can start today, even if you do not feel ready.
When your mind is too full, your body can take the first step
When we are overwhelmed, the nervous system automatically shifts into alert — the heart beats faster, breathing becomes shallow, muscles tighten. Short breathing exercises can support a gradual return to a calmer state. Research shows that structured breathing practices, 5 minutes a day, can improve overall mood and reduce physiological arousal — whatever the situation. It is not a treatment and it does not fix the hard news, but it can make the next moment a little easier to get through.
What Calm90 does in the first days
Calm90 is a 90-day program that invites you to do a single short exercise each day — a few minutes of guided breathing. There is no performance to reach. There is no wrong score. You can do the exercise in bed, on the sofa or before an appointment. The aim in the first days is not to feel different after the first session — it is to build a small habit of returning to your own body when your mind is adrift.
How you can start — even if you do not feel ready
You do not have to feel ready to start. You open the app, press Start and follow the rhythm. If you miss a day, you come back the next day — no guilt, no forced catching up. Intense emotions — fear, sadness, anger — can coexist with the exercise. You do not have to stop them in order to breathe. You can be frightened and still do the exercise. These do not cancel each other out.
How to use this in OncoDots / Calm90
OncoDots gives you Calm90 straight from the main screen. You can start your first session at any time — the app guides you through the breathing and asks for a short check-in on how you feel before and after. If you want to note down what you feel or what questions you have for your doctor, the Plan section in OncoDots can be a useful place for that.
Key points
What to take away from this article
- ✓Mindful breathing does not fix the hard news, but it can make the next moment easier to get through.
- ✓Calm90 does not ask for performance — your first day can be imperfect and still count.
- ✓Fear and sadness can coexist with the exercise. You do not have to stop them in order to breathe.
- ✓A missed day does not undo the process — you come back the next day and carry on.
Reassuring reminders
What is worth remembering on hard days
- You do not have to feel calm to do the exercise. You do the exercise to return, gradually, to something calmer.
- If you feel no difference in the first sessions, that is completely normal — the habit forms over time.
- The first days are the hardest. Opening the app is already an act of care for yourself.
Continue the exercise
Go back to Calm90 for today's session.
Where you can continue
Other relevant articles and modules in OncoDots
Sources
This article is based on official and academic sources.
- Balban et al. 2023 — Brief structured respiration practices enhance mood and reduce physiological arousal. Cell Reports Medicine. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9873947
- NCI — Emotions and Cancer. https://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/coping/feelings
- Macmillan Cancer Support — Cancer and your emotions. https://www.macmillan.org.uk/cancer-information-and-support/treatment/coping-with-treatment/cancer-and-your-emotions
Important note
This article is informative and does not replace an individual medical or psychological assessment.